Did you know that the official name of the state of Massachusetts is the “Commonwealth of Massachusetts”? It is sometimes referred to as “the Commonwealth”, but has the same rights as other states in the United States. The three other states in the U.S. that are titled commonwealths are: Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This week we are discussing Massachusetts employment background check information, Massachusetts crime data, and other general state information in our weekly blog series, “Criminal Data and Employment Background Check Information for Your Favorite State”!

About Massachusetts*

Massachusetts Population and Age Distribution. Massachusetts’ estimated population was 6.6 million. The median age was 39.5 years. 21% of the population was under the age of 18, and 15% was 65 years and over.

Median Household Income. The median income of households was $65,339. The total number of households was 2,522,394 with an average of 2.54 people.

Massachusetts Employment and Unemployment Rate. 61.6% of the Massachusetts population over the age of 15 were employed which ranks 15th in the nation. The Massachusetts unemployment rate is 8.5% which was ranked 28th in the country.

Types of Employers. The types of employers in Massachusetts were as follows: 200,499 (6%) were self-employed, 417,770 (12.5%) were employed by the federal, state, or local government and 2,713,058 (81.4%) were employed by the private sector.

Occupations. Occupations for the population employed (over the age of 15) in Massachusetts’ private sector were: Business, Science, and Arts (43.3%), Sales and Office (23.4%), Service (17.4%), Production, Transportation, and Material Moving (8.7%), Natural Resources, Construction, and Maintenance (7.2%).

Massachusetts Health Insurance Coverage. 96% of the civilian non-institutionalized population had health insurance coverage (4% had no coverage). Of those with coverage, 75% had private coverage and 34% had public coverage.

Disability. 12% of the civilian non-institutionalized population of Massachusetts reported a disability. The Massachusetts disability claim rate was ranked 34th in the country.

For a list of Massachusetts counties, cities, towns, and county court houses, click here.

Massachusetts Crime Data*

Total Violent Crimes. Massachusetts had 26,953 total violent crimes (which ranked 15th in the nation) and with a violent crime rate of 0.41% (which ranked it 21st among all the states including DC & PR). Of the total number of violent crimes, 121 were murders, 1,642 were forcible rapes, 6,552 were robberies, and 18,638 were aggravated assaults.

Property Crime. Massachusetts had 143,089 total property crimes. Of the total number of property crimes, 34,540 were burglaries, 99,317 were larceny/thefts, and 9,232 were motor vehicle thefts.

Law Enforcement. Massachusetts had the 30th most law enforcement employees per population. Massachusetts ranked 13th in the nation for the most police officers per population.

For more Massachusetts crime information, please see the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) website.

Massachusetts Employment Background Check Products

The Massachusettscounty criminal background check will return felony and misdemeanor convictions and deferred judgments from the Superior courts and District courts over the past seven years. The results are provided within one to three business days. The cost of this product is $24.95.

Our Massachusetts employment background check products include a Massachusetts county criminal check, a sex offender record search of Massachusetts as well as the entire country, and a search of the Most Wanted List. For the full description, please visit our Massachusetts criminal background check webpage.

*Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and FBI. “About Massachusetts” data is from 2011. “Massachusetts Crime Data” data is from 2012.